Stock Brokers are All Competing for Our Money

By Danny Jamerson

After years of trading, I've come up with a pretty good understand of how stock brokers work and how to figure out whether the brokerage firm is a good one or not. Do you have a dud or a winner? Find the broker below and see for yourself.

Zecco stomped onto the industry with unlimited free trades. It was a big mistake because it was an unsustainable business model. Now, it only offers ten free trades if you have $25,000 in your account.

OptionsHouse's pricing is only $2.95 per trade. Yup. Less than three dollars. I know. It's cheap, and their competitors know this. It will be interesting to see how everyone else response once the word is out.

TradeKing used to be the leader with $4.95 stock trades but other people have surpassed them to be the pricing leader. However, this broker has ultra responsive support which might be the determining factor for many.

OptionsXpress is cool because it focuses on options but they have since expanded into the arena of stocks. They do a fine job on the educational front as well.

Scottrade has many loyal followings but it's not doing enough to attract new customers, or at least the younger crowd. $7 is cheap if you are talking about ten years ago but it's not cheap anymore.

TD Ameritrade used to dominate but it is not very good. The interface is outdated and the pricing is high. I don't think they are gathering many new comers these days and just servicing old ones.

Etrade used to be the most innovative and web savvy company but with all the troubles and all these up and coming discount brokerages, Etrade has a tough road ahead. Still, this firm has a solid offering if you don't mind paying a little bit more per trade. - 23199

About the Author:

It's easy to invest but it's harder to know what you are doing. investing basics helps by showing you how to invest correctly and educating you on investing terms.